[Zytek_Fan]

As announced by Jean-Claude Plassart , the President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest during last June’s press conference before the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours, the ACO has taken advantage of the intervening months to refine its study of the equivalence between petrol and diesel-engined cars in motor racing. It should be pointed out that the 2007 24-Hours race highlighted the overall balance of the regulations currently in force with breath-taking suspense right the finish, and the presence of 3 different manufacturers on the rostrum (Audi, Peugeot and Pescarolo). This has only happened once in the last 30 years (1999, with BMW, Toyota and Audi).

What’s more the same regulations have led to an amazing final in the Le Mans Series, as the outcome of the last round of the season on 10th November in Brazil will decide the manufacturers’ title.

However, the ACO as the guarantor of this climate of trust and spirit of openness that is crucial for endurance racing has taken the time to consult all the entrants. It appears that now is the right moment to close the gap between the performances of the LM P1 petrol-engines prototypes and those of the diesel-powered cars over a lap, so as to maintain a constant and visible level of suspense throughout the race.

As a result, two technical adjustments will be made for the 2008 season:

►The minimum weight of the LM P1 cars is fixed at 900 kgs,
►The surface of the air restrictors fitted to petrol-engined cars will benefit from a 3% increase.

These adjustments intervene before the announcement in November of the modifications to the regulations affecting the prototype categories (LM P1 and LM P2), which will remain valid for several years.

It seems like the ACO is being stupid again...a 3% restrictor increase for petrol cars isn't going to do anything...

Originally Posted by Mulsanne Mike

The changes are ultimately minor, a 3% restrictor area increase for the gas powered cars coupled with a reduced overall minimum to 900 kgs for all competitors. The weight reduction is perhaps the more significant of the two changes though it is somewhat disheartening that it has been granted for all. But in some ways this is a de facto bonus for the gas powered cars as it would seem the diesels are still struggling to reach even the 925 kgs minimum (dailysportscar quotes between 925-931 kgs for the R10s and 937 & 941 kgs for the 908s at Le Mans this year). Though I wouldn't put it past Audi and Peugeot to begin to moan about that while shoveling fist-fulls of cash into crash weight reduction programs. The reality is that the gas powered cars have been running around with substantial levels of ballast to meet the 925 kgs (remember that December 2005 surprise?) and therefore can immediately chuck off the amount needed to meet the new minimum. One can argue that for once the manufacturers may have to dig deep to reach that goal, but then again we're approaching the end of the season and have a long winter ahead of us before the '08 season begins...

Mike does bring up a good point about the weight...